The stars are out

My Mother was Nuts by Penny Marshall


Most people know Penny Marshall as the director of Big and A League of Their Own. What they don’t know is her trailblazing career was a happy accident. In this funny and intimate memoir, Penny takes us from the stage of The Jackie Gleason Show in 1955 to Hollywood’s star-studded sets, offering up some hilarious detours along the way.

My Mother Was Nuts is an intimate backstage pass to Penny’s personal life, her breakout role on The Odd Couple, her exploits with Cindy Williams and John Belushi, and her travels across Europe with Art Garfunkel on the back of a motorcycle. We see Penny get married. And divorced. And married again (the second time to Rob Reiner). We meet a young Carrie Fisher, whose close friendship with Penny has spanned decades. And we see Penny at work with Tom Hanks, Mark Wahlberg, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert De Niro, and Whitney Houston.

Throughout it all, from her childhood spent tap dancing in the Bronx, to her rise as the star of Laverne & Shirley, Penny lived by simple rules: “try hard, help your friends, don’t get too crazy, and have fun.” With humor and heart, My Mother Was Nuts reveals there’s no one else quite like Penny Marshall.


My rating & take





I had no real idea what I was in for with this book but lucky for me this was a total joy from beginning to end. I am a fan of Ms. Marshall's acting work and I love the kinds of movies she directs but I was not prepared for the one-of-a-kind life she had led and the people that she calls friends, oh, and then there were her crazy parents thrown into the mix too. I treasure the honesty that she poured into this book and I love that she seems to have the ability in her life to see through the unnecessary details and get right to the heart of an issue, this must be one of the qualities that makes her such a successful director. I am so glad she took the chance and wrote this book!